Awake and Angry

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on the cause of your anger. Do not give the devil an opportunity
Ephesians 4:26–27 (NET)

I find it interesting that the emotion of anger is specifically addressed by the Apostle Paul. Why? Anger has many facets, and one of those facets is that anger, if not controlled, spreads like a heat rash in the south! Paul didn't say anger is wrong, what he did say is that we should address it IMMEDIATELY! Have you ever noticed that when you are angry with someone and you don't address it right away, you stay up all night, thinking of how that person wronged you...and as the night progresses, you are still awake and you start developing scenarios in which this person starts taking on characteristics that are totally unrealistic of that person, that they are out to get you and make you feel even worse! Next thing you know its time to wake up and go to work and you haven't had any sleep. Then while you are awake you start daydreaming the whole thing all over again! Anger will spread and start infecting areas of your life that seem totally unrelated. Anger will also affect you physically with upset stomach, irritability, unable to concentrate, insomnia, etc. However, if you address the anger right away and talk to that person that made you angry, you wont have to go through all of that, in fact, in most cases, whatever that person did to make you angry, they really didn't mean it at all. But, as Paul said, the devil will take any opportunity he can, and if there is anger to capitalize on, he will!

Take Away...if someone makes you angry, talk to them right away (in a calm way of course, not full of emotions), don't give the devil an opportunity!

Special Brownies

Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch of dough—you are, in fact, without yeast. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
1 Corinthians 5:7 (NET)

There is a story that went around several years ago about a mother, in an attempt to make a point, made "special" brownies for her daughters. She added a "special" ingredient but didn't tell her daughters until she was about to serve them. When they all sat down to eat, the girls were excited and couldn't wait to eat the special brownies. The mother said "I just need to tell you about the special ingredient. It isn't very much, in fact very little of this 'special' ingredient went into the batter. The 'special' ingredient is dog poop. I just put very little, you won't even be able to taste it." As you can image the daughters were disgusted and wouldn't eat it. The mother said "it is only a little, not much." The girls still wouldn't eat it. Why is it that we can't eat a brownie with a little dog poop in it, but we sure can justify doing something we know is wrong, even if we do it "just a little bit." Y'all know what I'm saying! We seem to justify anything, but the truth is we know what we should and shouldn't be doing. We need to just stop doing what we know we shouldn't do because if we keep doing what we shouldn't be doing, it is going to spread to other areas in our lives. We need to take a regular inventory of our lives and do what Paul says, clean out the "old yeast"...the things in our lives we shouldn't be doing. 

Take Away...stop eating the "dog poop," and take an inventory of your life on a regular basis and get rid of the "old yeast," the things in your life that you know you shouldn't be doing. Ask God to strengthen you and give you help.

Talk and Walk

So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself.
James 2:17 (NET)

Have you ever met someone who talked a lot of talk but had very little, if any, action that supported their talk? After being on stage when I was on the worship team and now being a pastor, I've come across many people who would talk the "Christian-ese" talk, you know, they know the right words to say, they would talk about all these wonderful things they were doing and they would throw in a "praise Jesus" every few words or so. The problem is their "walk" wasn't there. They would talk the talk, but their actions would be quite different. James said it perfectly, your walk, your actions, the way you behave will show if you have faith. If you really and genuinely have faith in God, faith in Jesus and call Him Lord of your life, your actions will follow what you say.  I challenge each of us, myself included, that we take a look at ourselves on a regular basis and see if what we are saying is being followed up by the same actions. If not, then a change is needed in your life.

Take Away...don't just talk the talk, follow your talk with actions that support your talk.

Intentional Prayer

Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months! 5:18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land sprouted with a harvest.
James 5:17-18 (NET)

I was sitting in my room where I usually go to spend my time with God and I started praying for people. The Holy Spirit stopped me dead in my tracks. He said listen to what you are praying. So I did and realized I was praying an un-intentional prayer. What I mean by that is that I was praying one of those standard prayers, "Lord be with them" and "Lord continue to work in their lives." The Holy Spirit said "Really? You don't think I won't work in their lives if you don't pray that? I am already working with them, what do you want to see happen? That is what you need to pray." So I thought about it and realized that with every prayer I do want to see a specific outcome for whatever it is I'm praying for. For example, I was praying for a couple and I was saying "Lord be with them and work with them" when I should be intentional about what I was praying for and pray "Lord, I want to see them walk in peace, I want to see them not argue with each other but start learning how to accept each other and their faults. I ask You that they learn how to deflect the arrows that the enemy is shooting at them." Intentional prayer, just like Elijah! He was very specific in his prayer in James 5:17-18, and God honored that! But what if you don't know what to pray? If you dig deep down, there is a reason you are praying for a situation, pray for that reason, it is there! I'm not saying you are going to get or see whatever it is you are praying for, but at least you will be intentional about what you are praying about!

Take Away...

When you pray for someone or something, be intentional and pray for the outcome of whatever it is you are praying for.

Plans for 2016

For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the Lord. ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NET)

I have a journal that I write in everyday during my time with God...my "Coffee in the Cave" time. I journal what I believe God is speaking to me, how He helped me, how He instructed me, disciplined me, etc. I was reading through my entries in January 2015, and one thing struck me. Not once in all of January was even a thought that God would have Tammy and I start a church. We didn't even have a clue back in January 2015 that one year later, we would be starting a church. I like to think I know whats going to happen over the next few months and years, and its good to have plans, it gives us something to work toward. But one thing we absolutely MUST do is check with God before pursuing those plans. Why? Because He has plans also! He has plans for me that take priority over my plans. Yes, He will let me do my own thing for a while, until the plans fail, and yes they will fail, and it is usually at that point that He gets me back on to His plan. Some would think, "well, isn't that controlling?" Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but I look at what His plans do for me, they "prosper me, not harm me, they give me a future filled with hope." I don't call that controlling, I call that "plans I want to follow" plans! The whole point of this is to say, you never know what the future holds for you. You may think you do, but the reality is you don't. But we have God who knows the future! We have a God who has plans for each of us for the future...and they are not just any plans, they are plans that are going to prosper us and not harm us. They are plans that give us a future filled with hope and not dread! Make a choice that for 2016, you are going to be open to whatever God is leading you to do, you may be surprised at what you will be doing come December 2016!

Take Away...

Write down what you see yourself doing in 2016 and put it away for safe keeping. Then on January 1, 2017, look at it and see where God has taken you, you may be astonished at where He has lead you!

A New Perspective

I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.
1 John 5:13

Our daily lives are so full of issues, decisions, drama, joys, excitements, etc, that somehow, as Christians, we lost sight that we are going to live forever. The Apostle John said that if we believe in the name of the Son of God, we will have eternal life, meaning that we are going to live forever. So if that is the case, then why is it so important that I have to have my way all the time? Why is it so important that every one does what I think they should do? Why is it so important that everything should be done when I think it should be done? We are going to live forever!!! All these things that we think are so important really don't matter at all when it comes to eternal life. We need to start getting a Kingdom perspective on life, and get our eyes off of ourselves and what makes me happy and what makes me feel good, and start looking through the eyes of Jesus. When we start getting a Kingdom perspective, its amazing how God takes care of the things we think are so important to us. In fact, and I've seen this happen to me, that when something is not going the way I think it should and I get ahold of myself and settle down and ask God to give me a Kingdom perspective, I focus on Him and that "thing" that I thought was SO important, no longer is really that important. How do we do that? 1) Stop thinking about yourself all the time, get your eyes off of you, 2) Look at every situation through the eyes of Jesus (which may mean getting into the Bible more and finding out how Jesus sees things), and 3) ask God to help you get His perspective on things.

Take Away...

Start looking through the eyes of Jesus and make a choice to start looking at life through a Kingdom perspective.

Ticked at the World

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage.

John 14:27

Did you ever wake up and instantly you were ticked at the world? And anything anyone said to you, well, you just really wanted to rip their heads off? Funny how that happens, and for me it usually happens when I don't get enough sleep, and then I wake up feeling all anxious, knowing that if I said anything to anyone, it wouldn't be good. I've come to recognize that for whatever reason, and usually it is the enemy stirring me up, raising up my insecurities or some selfish behavior, but whatever...I need to keep my mouth shut, get by myself for a few minutes, lift up my hands to the Lord and say "Jesus, settle my soul." There are times I will say this over and over for 5 minutes. And with each time I say that, I feel something like soothing ointment pour over my mind and I start to feel less anxious, less mad and more at peace. Now the anxiety may rise up again later in the day, and sometimes 5 minutes later, but all I have to do is say "Jesus, settle my soul." Jesus wants us to walk each day in His peace. If we have anything but peace, then that should be a red flag to us that something is not right and we need to go to the Lord and ask Him to settle us down. You may not have an opportunity to get away for 5 minutes, especially at work, and if that is the case, and that has happened to me, I close my eyes for a minute and ask Jesus to settle my soul. 

Take Away...

If you feel anything but peace, if you feel anxious, stirred up about something, you feel like you want to rip people's heads off...find a moment (and real soon), close your eyes and say "Jesus, settle my soul."

Worship Song of the Week...

 It Is Well by Bethel

Beyond Where You Are Now

Show me the right path, O lord;
point out the road for me to follow.

Psalm 25:4 (NLT)

Did you ever find yourself doing something that you never thought you would be doing...and liking it!? That's what happens when you ask God to guide you and to point out the road for you to follow. The caveat to this is that when you ask Him that, you need to remain open to whatever road He leads you on, even if it is something you never even thought of doing or something you don't think you would like. For example, growing up I was a musician, I took piano lessons for 11 years privately and 1 year in college, was in the church band for many years, had my own band and was in several other bands. So one could think that was where God wanted me. Well, it was...for a season, but He had other plans. I ask God, "God, show me the right path for my life, point out the road for me to follow." Several years later I started teaching in a small group, which led to teaching a couple college courses for a few years, which led to teaching my first message to a church, which has now led to me starting a church. The funny thing is, when I was growing up, I never ever ever saw myself teaching, but when I prayed that prayer, I had to make a choice. The choices were a) I could ask God to guide my life, but only in the direction I wanted to go; or b) I could ask God to guide my life in the direction where He wanted me to go with all options available. If you ask God to guide your life, but only in the way you want it to go, you'll never go beyond where you are now. But if you ask God to guide your life and say "I don't care where you lead me, just lead me because I know that Your way is the better way and You want nothing but good things for me." When you leave all options open, it shows a level of trust in Him...and that's a good place to be. Oh yeah, and hang on, because the road He guides you on will be full of learning, growing, some pain (but there's always going to some pain), and a lot of excitement and amazement!

Take Away: don't limit yourself to your current way of thinking, open yourself up to God's plan, and allow Him to guide you, even if it is in areas you never thought of or ever saw yourself doing.

Worship Song of the Week...

It Is Well by Bethel

The Big Chill

One can devise many plans in one's mind, but ADONAI's plan will prevail.
Proverbs 19:21 (Complete Jewish Bible)

I am a planner. I plan things, and when I say I plan things, I plan a lot...and I mean A LOT! I plan details, and not just for later today, but for tomorrow, the next day, the next month, etc. I need to know where are we going tomorrow, what time, how are we going, how long will it take to get there, are we going to stop on the way, if we are going to stop on the way, where are we going to stop, how long are we going to stop, is anyone else going, if they are, where do they want to stop...you get the picture. That was me not long ago, but as God has worked on me to "not be a planner" I realized how being this detailed planner can have its pluses and its minuses. The pluses...you make sure things get done. The minuses...you drive the people around you crazy!!! Because now, when I get around a planner...it drives me crazy, and all I want to say is CHILL! So I can imagine that is what others were saying to me...I just didn't hear them...like Jesus. He was telling me to CHILL for a long time, I just wasn't hearing Him. But you know, God always makes a way to get His purpose through to you and me, and finally I did hear Jesus say "Chill Kent!!!!" When I finally chilled, I didn't feel any more pressure or anxiety or stress. I realized that I was finally able to enjoy the things that I was planning without being stressed to make sure they were getting done. When I stopped planning every detail and just chilled, something amazing happened...things still got accomplished! Yes, even though I wasn't planning every detail, things still got accomplished...and I was able to enjoy them! On top of everything...Jesus now has the freedom in my life to accomplish what, when and how He wants things done...not how, when and what Kent wants done, but what He wants done. Isn't that the whole goal? I'm not totally there yet, but I am a lot closer to being completely chill and doing things spontaneously than I was a few years ago.

Take Away: if you need to know and plan every detail of something, take a chill pill and let God have His way and let Him plan things. Believe it or not, things will still get done!

Worship Song of the Week...

It Is Well by Bethel

The Better Land

But as it is, they aspire to a better land, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Hebrews 11:16 NET

One of the things that the "Men of Faith" did that kept them going forward was wanting what was better. They knew that if they returned Egypt, even though they would be fed and have a roof over their head, it would also put them back in slavery, or even worse. They knew God wanted something better for them, so instead of constantly thinking how much better things were in Egypt compared to their current situation (which was pretty bad at the time), they looked forward to what God wanted for them. Your current situation may not look so good, in fact it may seem down right aweful with no end in sight. That in its self could cause you to look back to how things where before they got bad. But God has a different plan than your past...He has a future for you! He has something better for you, he has a "better land" for you and if you will keep that hope alive in you, you will get closer and closer to the "better land." However, if you start thinking how bad things are now and how better they were before, your hope for the future will start to fade. You need to keep God's promise of a "better land" in the forefront of your mind. For example, if you are in a financial need, God's promise says He will provide all your needs (Phil 4:19). He knows exactly what you need and He will provide for that need. What you need to do during the time of waiting for Him to provide is to keep looking to Him and speaking out His promise. When those thoughts of gloom and despair rise up in you, push them back down with "God will provide all my needs!" 

Take Away: When things look better in the past than they currently are now, keep looking forward to the "better land" that God has prepared for you, no matter what your current circumstances are. 

It Is Well

Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead,
those who rely on war horses,
and trust in Egypt’s many chariots
and in their many, many horsemen.
But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel
and do not seek help from the Lord.

Isaiah 31:1 (NET)

At this time in Israel's history, they were under attack, but they had become so apathetic, they stopped trusting in God to deliver them. The God who brought them across dry land through the Red Sea, the God who brought them across the wilderness, fed them with manna, gave them drink out of a spring in the ground, the God who delivered them from their enemies as they went into the promised land, the God who did all these things and much much more, they stopped believing that He could deliver them and CHOSE to go to Egypt for help. Like many of you, I read this and thought, "well, they were stupid, didn't they see how God delivered them in the past, they got what they deserved then!" I call this, "I can't see the forest because of the trees." What I mean by that is we do exactly the same thing. Yes, really! How many times has God saved you from making a big mistake, how many times has God healed you, directed you to keep you from harm, but yet when push came to shove, you stopped going to Him and started going to your abilities, your friends, your work, your pastor, etc. You...and I...do everything except trust God. You may say "well Kent, you don't know my situation." That's true, but God is still the God of the past, the God of the present and the God of the future, what He did thousands of years ago, He is still doing today and will do in the future...we just have to do one thing...and that is trust Him. Trust Him that He will give you what you need when you need it. See, we all think we need what we think we need right now, at the present. But He is the God that sees the whole picture, He is the One the truly knows what we need and when we need it. Even if it is in the 11th hour (the last minute), we trust Him. Even if things look like they are getting worse, we trust Him. Even if the sickness is getting worse, we trust Him. Even if the bank account says there is no more money, we trust Him.

Take Away: no matter what the circumstance, no matter how bad things look, trust Him. If you truly trust Him, He will make a way!

Worship Song of the Week...

 It Is Well by Bethel

The Litmus Test

If anyone says “I love God” and yet hates his fellow Christian, he is a liar, because the one who does not love his fellow Christian whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

1 John 4:20

We all want to say "yes, I love God with my whole heart," but do we really? John says here that we can say we love God until we are blue in the face, but if we do not love our fellow Christian, then we are a liar. "Well bless God I love all my Christian brothers and sisters," which is what most of our first responses are when we hear this, but when it gets right down to the definition of love...the Godly definition of love, do we really? The Godly definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 says love is patient, kind, not rude, thinks the best of people, not envious, not selfish, not easily angered. Now if we looked how we treat our Christian brothers and sisters, can we really say that we truly love these people? Can we really say to our Christian brother "even though you just made me angry, I'm going to love you and forgive you" or "even though I heard something really bad about you, I'm going to believe the best of you?" I'm not saying all this to get you down, I'm saying this so we can be truthful with ourselves and with our love toward God. The goal is to love God with our whole being (Mark 12:30), but I don't know of anyone who has achieved this except for Jesus. How do I know this? Look at the way you and I treat people! Do we treat people in Godly love as 1 Corinthians 13 says, or do we treat people bad because "I didn't get my way," or "I didn't get what I wanted," or "you got what I should've had," etc etc etc. How do we change? We spend time with God, we get to know Him more and more. And as we get to know Him more and more, we will want to spend more time with Him. As we do, we start showing His love to those around us. Yes, we can try to correct our behavior, and I would encourage that, but a true change comes from getting closer to God!

Take Away: As you get closer and closer to God, your behavior will start exhibiting His love toward the people around you.

Worship Song of the Week...

Touch the Sky by Hillsong

Racing, Confusing and Rest

Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Matthew 11:29 (NET)

I know I've talked about this before,but apparently I need to hear it again, and if I need to hear it again, some of you probably do, especially since we are approaching the holiday season which means dinner engagements, Christmas parties, New Years Eve gatherings, family to see, etc. Life just gets much much busier in December and you still have your normal routine to do each day as well. For Tammy and I, it is just not additional things to do along with our normal routine, but we are getting ready to start a church in January. So as you can imagine, my mind has been racing, and over the past few days it has been racing faster and faster. And as my mind has raced faster and faster, the sleep has become less and less, my mind is going in about a thousand different directions, all at the same time...yada yada yada CONFUSION! Jesus finally said, "Kent, stop it. Your mind is racing so much that now you have a hard time hearing My voice. You need to just stop...and rest in me." I then got this picture of Jesus sitting down, having a cup of coffee and just relaxing. Jesus wants to take all of our burdens, all of the "junk" we are going through so that we can rest in Him. That's what it means to rest in Him...give Him all your "stuff" you are mulling around in your mind thereby getting more and more confused and stressed...just give it to Him...and then rest! This means once you handyour "stuff" over to Him, you don't think about it any more, you don't try to make things happen so that you can accomplish a goal that you most likely set for yourself, you just stop, sit and rest trusting in Him that He is taking care of it. This is different than being passive or ignoring things. How? If you are passive about something or ignoring something, then it is still not being taken care of and the "thing" is still there when you are done resting, and honestly you aren't really resting. But when you give it to Jesus, He is taking care of it while you are resting so that when you are done resting, He has taken care of it! 

Take Away: instead of allowing your mind to race, thinking on how to take care of a hundred things at one time, give it to Him...and then rest!

Worship Song of the Week...

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) by Hillsong

Do It Scared

Now may the God of peace who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ, equip you with every good thing to do his will...

Hebrews 13:20-21

Okay, so you are sitting comfortable where you are, you have a nice home, good job, you play on the worship team at church, great friends around you, an incredible wife...life is good and comfortable. Then God says, "okay, its time to make a change, you are going to start a church." What is your first reaction? Is it, "oh, that can't be God, that must be the devil!" Is it, "that's impossible God, I don't have any of the skills to do that," or "right God, stop joking, You know I have a hard to speaking to my co-workers much less speaking to a group of people." Kind of sounds like Moses when God called Him out to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, but Moses finally said yes...and the rest is history. God doesn't care about your ability, He doesn't care if you have this degree or that degree, He doesn't care if you have experience in a particular area, what He is looking for is someone who will say "God, whatever it is You are asking me to do, I'll do it!" According to Hebrews, God will give you what you need to accomplish His will, all you have to do is have faith that He will do it, and then step out in faith as He directs you. If you are scared to do it, like I was, then do it scared. If God is telling you to do something, He will not tell you to do it just to have you fall flat on your face. He is telling you because He wants to accomplish His will through you...and that is an awesome thing!

Take Away...when God calls you to step out into something that is totally out of your comfort zone, respond to God with "God, I know I don't have the skills to do what You are calling me to do and I am a little scared, but You are God and You are so much bigger than me, so lets do it, even if I have to do it scared Lord, let go!"

Worship Song of the Week...

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) by Hillsong

The Next Place

For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but when what is perfect comes, the partial will be set aside.

1 Corinthians 13:9-10

Many years ago I was in a band called Atone and I thought that was my final calling. I could've bet my house on that at the time! But during those Atone years, God told me that Atone would be a small part of something very big in my life. Well, a lot of water has passed under that proverbial bridge, and looking back on the last 25 years, I can definitely see how my band was a small part of what God was calling me to. Sometimes we think that what we are doing now is it, its the final, its the "I've made it," but we are only seeing what is here and now. We are not seeing the big picture, and by doing so, we are limiting ourselves. What I mean by that is that when you are doing something that you think is the final call, your final ministry or whatever, and then God says, "okay, now lets move on to something different," we risk either not hearing His voice or we say "that can't be God, because what I am doing now is 'it'." You've got to take what you are doing now, enjoy that time, learn what you can during that time, and at the same time keep your mind open to hear where He is going to take you next...because He WILL take you to the next place, there's no question about that! You are never at your final ministry or calling, there is always "the next place" He wants to take you to!

Take Away: enjoy where you are at, but don't think it is "it." Be open and ready to move when God says, "okay, here is where we are going next."

Worship Song of the Week...

Oceans (where feet may fail) by Hillsong

What Are You Thinking?

We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5

Ever get thoughts inside your mind and wonder "where did that come from?" And you passively dismiss it. But it comes again, and then again and again until its at the front of just about everything you are thinking about? We need to be mindful of what these thoughts are because thoughts will eventually lead into action. Thats why the Apostle Paul said we need to take every thought we have and take it to Jesus. Whatever we are thinking about, we need to see if it lines up with the word of God. Thats why it is so important to know the word, to know God, to know Jesus, because when you do, you know if that thought is from God or not. If the thought is from God, then you should continue to think about it, pray about it, and see what God wants to do with it. However, if the thought you are thinking does not line up with God, then you need to dismiss it immediately, and don't do it nonchalantly. You need to be purposeful in dismissing that thought. For example, say you're heading to a meeting and you are already late, then on your way you are hitting every red traffic light. Then these thoughts start coming "you're going to miss the meeting, you're not really that important so they wont wait on you, why don't you just go home 'cause you're already late" and so on and so on. Now you have a choice, you could continue to think those thoughts while you sit in traffic and allow them to produce either frustration, anger, and eventually the act of going home and missing the meeting. OR you could say "No! I am not going to listen to these thoughts. My God says that ALL things work out for good for those who love Him, so bless God I am going to the meeting even if I am there for the last 5 minutes!" Never be passive about thoughts, take them to Jesus!

Take Away...thoughts will eventually produce action. Make sure you take every thought to Jesus, and if it is not from God, then rebuke it with His word.

Worship Song of the Week

Here With You by Hillsong

Moving Forward

In fact, if they had been thinking of the land that they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.

Hebrews 11:15 (NET)

Changes happen every day of our lives, some are pretty small and we don't even notice them. But then there are the big changes, like a change of jobs, a change of location, a change of church, a change in the family dynamics...ie getting married or a death in the family. If we don't embrace these changes and we continue to live in the past, we will get stuck in the past and won't be able to make the right decisions that God wants us to make so that we can move forward in our lives. I had a good position with my job in Bismarck, North Dakota for many years, I had many friends, a band that was just beginning to be successful, suffice to say I had a lot going for me there. Then God said I want you to move. Now I could have said God, my band is just beginning to get successful and NOW you want me to move, and God, don't you know I have friends up here that I love and care about, don't you see this!!!!! Honestly there may have been a time or two I not only thought that, but may have said it as well. But in the end, I chose to trust God, stop thinking about how good things are where I am, and said, "God, where do you want me to go?" In just a few months, I was moving to Atlanta, Georgia. Now if I had chose to continue to think about how great things were where I was, I would never have moved to Atlanta, I would never have learned all that I learned that God wanted me to learn, and I would never be where I am at now so that God can move me to where He wants me to be. God is not stupid, in fact it is us who are short sighted. We see only whats going on around us, where God see the entire picture. We've got to trust Him to the point that when He wants to move us into a new job, new location, new this, new that, we've got to say, "I know where I am it is nice, but God, I choose what You are getting ready to do in my life, lets go!"

Take Away...when you hear God saying its time to make a change, embrace that change and move forward. Its okay to remember the past with fond memories, but its not okay to live in the past with fond memories...that will keep you from moving forward.

Worship Song of the Week...

The Other Person

Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself.

Philippians 2:3 (NET)

Today's culture sure has changed over the very recent years. Some might say this change has been taking place for a few decades, but we are really just seeing the manifestation of what has been happening over the years. We are living in a culture that is focused on ME, what is good for ME, how are you going to make ME happy, what can you do for ME, how is this going to affect ME...ME, ME, ME! God showed Joyce Meyers that we look like little robots going around saying "what about me, what about me, what about me." Even the commercials we see on television support the "what about me" society. This whole way of thinking is contrary to the way God wants us to think. He does not want us to think about ourselves, but of the other person. Yes, we have needs and wants, but He already said He would take care of them (Philippians 4:19), so why do I have to go around and be concerned about me when God already said He would take care of me? He wants us to be concerned for the other person, our friends, our colleagues at work, the person behind the counter processing your order, the person on the other end of the phone when a telemarketer calls (I know I just struck a nerve there), the policeman who is placing his life on the line for you...we are to be concern with them and in addition treat them as more important than yourself. I'll say it again, we are to treat others as more important than ourself! Yep, this is a total contradiction to our current culture, but if we want to see changes in our lives, we have got to get rid of our selfishness and focus on what God wants, and He wants us to treat others as more important than ourself. 

Take Away: when you encounter someone, anyone, the person behind the cash register at Walmart, the driver in front of you, your best friend, your spouse, your pastor...make a change and start thinking of them as more important than yourself. 

Worship Song of the Week...

Here Now by Hillsong

Things Are Always What They Seem

But when he saw the strong wind he became afraid. And starting to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Matthew 14:30 (NET)

We would all like to say we see every thing the way it really is. What I mean by that is that when we are looking at a situation, we think we are seeing the whole story through God's perspective. But what usually happens is that we see a situation through our perspective which is tainted with hurts from the past, experiences we have been through and a method of thinking that our brain uses. This twists the situation whereby we come out looking like we are right, and everyone else is wrong...or we are the victim and everyone should apologize to us. This has happened to me many times because of my own insecurities. I would walk into a situation where I would think the whole world is against me and that I am the victim. God finally got a hold on me and said "look Kent, you are looking through your own insecurities and not through My eyes." What really had happened is that I got my eyes off of Jesus and on to my circumstances. You see, circumstances will try to dictate reality, but in essence you are only seeing part of what is really going on. When we keep our eyes on Jesus, we let go of our insecurities and our hurts, and let Him deal with the situation. Now He may tell you that your thinking is wrong (which many times is the case for me), and in that case you have to change your way of thinking. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus and look at reality through His eyes and not our own. Circumstances may try to get your eyes off of Jesus, but don't let this happen. Keep your eyes fixed on Him.

Take Away: whatever the circumstances may seem to dictate, stop looking at your circumstances, and look to Jesus. He will take care of your hurts and pain.

Worship Song of the Week...

When God is Silent

O God, whom I praise, don’t stand silent and aloof

Psalm 109:1 (NLT)

Have you ever asked God something and all you got was silence? Its happened to me on several occasions. I would ask God "should I do this, or should I do that," and all I would get was silence. Back in the late 90s I was dating this woman and after several months I asked God "should I ask her to marry me?" Silence, nothing but silence. I asked several times...and silence. So in my logical mind I concluded that the next logical step would be to get engaged and then get married. So I asked her to marry me and she said yes. From that moment I felt life start to leave me and over the next month my life just got more empty and empty. After a month we ended our engagement and I asked God why did You let this happen. He said "I never told you to get engaged." When I look back, I could see how God had been talking to me about not pursuing that relationship, but I ignored Him. God really wasn't being silent when I asked Him about me marrying that woman, He had been talking to me for the previous several months, I just ignored Him. When you ask God for something and you get silence, go back in your memory and see where God WAS talking to you. He will be talking to your through other people, through circumstances, through your own heart, through church...but He is talking to you. Now, when I get silence, I go back and see where He has been talking to me. It is then when I know the answer without having to ask Him again.

Take Away...God really isn't silent, He has been talking to you the whole time. So when you think you are getting silence, think back and see where He has been talking to you. It is then that you have your answer.

Worship Song of the Week...